SECTION MANAGER NEWSLETTER
October 30, 2024       
Dan Ringer, K8WV
West Virginia Section Manager

To all West Virginia Section ARRL Members:

 ARRL VEC Services Update During Systems Disruption

Updated 10/30/2024

ARRL previously reported that we are responding to a serious incident involving access to our network and headquarters-based systems. Several services have been affected, including those administered by the ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (ARRL VEC).

Exam Registrations and Materials. ARRL Volunteer Examiners (VEs) should continue to submit exam registrations and material requests. We are able to post new or revised exam session dates and details to the website, we continue to ship out exam materials. Please remember that most exam materials are available on our website (www.arrl.org/resources-for-ves).

Processing Applications to the FCC and VE Session Counts Webpage. We are processing Amateur Radio License applications to the FCC. This includes applications for new and upgrade licenses, individual applications, and club license applications. The VEC exam session upload webpage was not affected by the incident. The VE session counts webpage data entry programming had been unavailable since May 12th. That part of our program’s systems became operational again mid-October. However, there is a 5 to 6 month backlog of session and VE participation data to enter into the system. It will take some time for the session counts page to reflect the data correctly but will be updated as quickly as we are able. We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding, as we work our way through the backlog.

VE Accreditations, International Radio Permits and License Class Certificates. As of mid-October, we are able to create Volunteer Examiner (VE) badges, certificates, and stickers. New ARRL VE applications and accreditation renewals are also being processed at this time. International Amateur Radio Permits and License Class Certificates are being created and shipped.

VE Newsletter VE-List Server. The VE Newsletter email program has been unavailable since the security incident in May. New subscribers cannot be added and existing information cannot be updated. Please check back in with us when we have access to that program system.

2024 – 2028 Extra Class Exam Booklets. A previous version of this story indicated that the ARRL VEC will supply its officially appointed, field-stocked VE team leaders with the new Extra-class exam booklet designs around mid-June. Due to ARRL’s recent system disruption, the shipment was delayed. The exam booklets were shipped out July 8 and should be have been delivered before August 1. VE Teams may contact the ARRL VEC to receive instructions on how to print new Extra exams in the interim. The newly revised pool must be used for Extra-class license exams starting July 1, 2024. Exam designs based off the previous pool are no longer valid. The outdated versions of the Extra exams should be destroyed or thrown away to avoid a mix-up at the testing session.

ARRL Youth Licensing Grant Program | FCC Application Fee Reimbursement Information. ARRL is continuing to accept reimbursement forms to cover the one-time $35 application fee for new license candidates younger than 18-years of age for tests administered under the auspices of the ARRL VEC. Reimbursement checks may take longer than normal to be processed at this time.

We appreciate your patience as ARRL continues to work on restoring access to affected systems and services.

This story will be updated with new developments.